# Illegal cattle ranching and screwworm outbreaks: urgent threats to health, the environment, and the economy > The 5 Great Forests Initiative

> A conservation bulletin says screwworm outbreaks in Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras have caused more than 40,000 cases as of September 2024. It links illegal cattle movements to cross-border spread of the disease.

- Date: 2024-10-22 · published 2024-10-22T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: disease · region Central America · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/27813-illegal-cattle-ranching-and-screwworm-outbreaks-urgent-threats-to-health-the
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

Illegal cattle movements could spread the pest into more countries, which raises the risk of wider livestock losses in the region.

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2019-03-06 | [Boston Herald - Boston news, sports, politics, opinion, entertainment, weather and obituaries - Flesh-eating New World Screwworm could pose health risks to cattle, humans](https://feedsoft.ai/events/60055-boston-herald-boston-news-sports-politics-opinion-entertainment-weather-and.md) | -0.9% | -1.7% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-05-09 | [Nicaragua reports screwworm outbreak in cattle
						 \| The Cattle Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/30190-nicaragua-reports-screwworm-outbreak-in-cattle-the-cattle-site.md) | +0.6% | +2.4% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-06-25 | [The screwworm parasite continues to spread in Texas, threatening cattle and wildlife : NPR](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18767-the-screwworm-parasite-continues-to-spread-in-texas-threatening-cattle-and.md) | -2.9% | -10.1% |
| LCATTLE | 2025-08-30 | [Screwworm outbreak cripples cattle trade, costs jobs and raises beef prices](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23284-screwworm-outbreak-cripples-cattle-trade-costs-jobs-and-raises-beef-prices.md) | -1.4% | -3.5% |
| LCATTLE | 2017-10-25 | [Farmers urged to be vigilant following detection of bluetongue virus in cattle imported to Great Britain \| Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs](https://feedsoft.ai/events/68411-farmers-urged-to-be-vigilant-following-detection-of-bluetongue-virus-in-cattle.md) | +5.8% | +5.7% |
| FCATTLE | 2019-03-06 | [Boston Herald - Boston news, sports, politics, opinion, entertainment, weather and obituaries - Flesh-eating New World Screwworm could pose health risks to cattle, humans](https://feedsoft.ai/events/60055-boston-herald-boston-news-sports-politics-opinion-entertainment-weather-and.md) | +0.3% | +2.8% |
| FCATTLE | 2020-11-20 | [Cattle industry focus on animal health begins at the ranch](https://feedsoft.ai/events/50117-cattle-industry-focus-on-animal-health-begins-at-the-ranch.md) | +2.2% | +2.7% |
| FCATTLE | 2026-06-25 | [The screwworm parasite continues to spread in Texas, threatening cattle and wildlife : NPR](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18767-the-screwworm-parasite-continues-to-spread-in-texas-threatening-cattle-and.md) | -2.4% | -7.8% |

## Sources

- programs.wcs.org: https://programs.wcs.org/5greatforests/en-us/News/ID/25649/Illegal-cattle-ranching-and-screwworm-outbreaks-urgent-threats-to-health-the-environment-and-the-economy

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.